The Restaurant

A unique window of a Vietnamese restaurant.  No photos of the dishes or plastic recreations, instead these charming characters.

My Secret Find

Sometimes you find a place so wonderful you want to keep it all to yourself and not share it with anyone (except your special friends).  Now you know I've recently moved house and so I'm on the look out for bits and bobs to decorate the new pad.  However, I am so over the High St shops.  Why does everything have to look exactly the same and be all such hustle and bustle?  What I really want is to peruse things over a nice glass of wine, a snack, and to just chill out and enjoy the experience.

Now you think this is my new pad don't you?  Nope... This is where I found that nice glass of wine, a few tapas and cake and some great company.   But hey guess what else?  Stuff to buy, stuff for the new pad.  I'm not kidding a place that does all of that.  Really!

The concept of Residence 130 is the brainchild of American Andriana.  It is a cafe by day, a wine bar in the evening (and the afternoon if you wish), and all round community space.

It is a home decorating store all the time.  You can buy the furniture you sit on, the art on the walls, and there is a range of products offering a zillion gift ideas.

All of this while enjoying the company of Adriana and her offsider Mathieu.  They are the perfect hosts and you will feel as if you are in a lovely large lounge and not a store.  Now this is my kinda place.  I have my eye on a couple of chairs and a cushion or two.If you follow my Instagram you will want to know what the other in-house resident at Residence 130 recommends by looking at what the Monkey Recommends and today he suggests a slice of delicious orange cake.

You can follow Residence 130 on Facebook @Residence and Instagram @claptonresidence

Pretty Butterflies

St Martin's Courtyard, a lovely shopping square in Covent Garden, has been decorated with butterflies and flowers, around the entrance, on the sides of the buildings and in circles through the entrances.  It looks very pretty, worth a visit.

Black Friars Pub

The narrow wedge shaped ornate art nouveau, Black Friars Pub is found in the area of the same name. Just across from the newly refurbished Black Friars Station. Built around 1875 it overflows with the work by sculptors Nathaniel Hitch, Frederick T. Callcott and Henry Poole. The exterior is equally elaborate.
In the 1960's Sir John Betjeman led a campaign to save the building from demolition.
Not bad for a pint, pie and picture.

A Little Extra for the House

A charming decor shop in Islington.

Guerilla Decor

We have had guerilla restaurants, guerilla shops and now guerilla DIY decor.

A series of makeovers of various sizes are to pop-up around the country as part of the Homebase advertising campaign. Last week the Carlisle Station was given a makeover that the locals are keen to keep.

The room in the park (at Crystal Palace) transformed this park bench (picture on the right) to the room above in only an hour or two. The idea being to show you what you can do yourself.

Watch out for more of these makeovers in coming weeks. I believe people in Bristol should be on the look out for a guerilla makeover somewhere soon.